No Coincidence? An Exploration of Serendipitous Belief

4 Views of the No-Coincidence Theory

Some people believe there are no coincidences. But do you? In the romantic comedy Serendipity, main characters Jonathan (John Cusak) and Sara (Kate Beckinsale), meet (coincidentally?) and like each other. But Sara wants to test the kismet of their new relationship; if they are really meant to be together, they will meet again. They do meet again, but only after the characters swing the pendulum of their belief in destiny back and forth several times. In the end, the viewer is left to wonder how much was fate and how much was purpose of mind. Are there no coincidences in life? Does everything have a purpose? These are questions that mankind has tried to solve for millennia. Explore the different schools of thought below.

New Age PhilosophyThis view of life is the basis of the New Age philosophy, which sprung from Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Neo-paganism, among other ancient religions. Although New Agers consider themselves to be spiritual beings, they do not view their beliefs as religious. One part of this philosophy teaches that everything has meaning, and that one can learn spiritual lessons even from small happenstances. They believe that everything in the universe is connected, and that time is not real; hence their interest in consulting psychics and tarot card readers. Another part of this teaching is making your own reality, or the law of attraction – that what you think about, and then decide, will become real in your life. So the events that happen to a person are never the result of chance, but the result of his own thoughts and choices. In the end, New Age philosophy teaches that there is a greater power at work in the universe, and it is attributed to the god-like powers within each person, not coincidence.

Jungian SynchronicityCarl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist with early connections to Sigmund Freud, believed in occult phenomena such as ESP, clairvoyance, telepathy, telekinesis, astrology, and spiritualism. Jung also promoted synchronicity.

Synchronicity, according to Jung, deals with meaningful coincidences and their interpretation. Synchronicity goes a bit further than two people who meet and discover they were both born on the same day. It requires some psychic thought while an external unexpected related event takes place, either at the same time, in the same location, or in the future. (The latter, of course, cannot be immediately verified.) For example, two people meet, discover they have the same birthday, but perhaps one of them dreamed the night before that they would meet their twin.

The Christian Belief SystemMost Christians believe that God has some measure of control in their lives. Beliefs Christians may have in no coincidences are attributed to God’s design, and vary widely. Some Christians base their opinions on the Bible. Other Christians hold nearly a mystical, New Age view of coincidences, though they call it providence or “God instances” rather than karma or chance. Those who see God’s hand in everything sometimes rely more heavily on their feelings than scriptural teachings. Common catchphrases are: “God showed it was his will because this happened,” or “We felt led by the Lord to make this decision because this happened.”

Within the groups who claim biblical grounds, there are, ironically, two opposing groups, each claiming they have scriptural grounds to affirm their position. Some groups believe that God causes everything to happen to direct their lives. They emphasize God’s control in their life through prayer and obedient living. Even this group varies widely in their view of life’s random circumstances as evidence that God is somehow at work.

Others believe that God leaves each believer to make his or her own choices based on the mental, physical and spiritual resources given to him. These Christians may believe there are no coincidences in life, but they do not rely so much on feelings to interpret life’s circumstances.

Christians as a whole will point to answered prayer, or ways God has worked in their lives that they cannot explain otherwise as proof that there are no coincidences.

Those who believe there are no coincidences, whether Christian or New Age, can use their belief rather naively. For instance, one Christian may find himself in need of a car, so he begins to pray that God provide one. The next Sunday as he talks with a fellow church member, his friend mentions that he has a car he wants to sell. The first Christian might see this as God’s answer to his prayer, and buy the car from his friend. Later he might find that his friend sold him a lemon, or charged more than the car was worth.

Was it a coincidence that the buyer was snookered? Not really. Christians attribute these instances to an opportunity for growth. New Age followers call these negative manifestations and major learning lessons. The skeptic would call it something else.

The SkepticAt the other end of the spectrum for “no coincidences” followers, there are those who believe that life is a series of random happenstances, and that each person is in control of mind-handling their set of circumstances.

In a Psychology Today article titled “The Power of Coincidence,” author Jill Neimark notes that scientists are finding medical reasons to explain why we assign meaning to coincidences: “Many of the remarkable feats our brains regularly perform—including our ability to learn the meaning of words or decode the unspoken laws of social decorum depend on our penchant for noticing coincidences.”

In answer to those who say about a coincidence, “What are the odds of that?” scientists point to just that, the odds – probability, statistics and the mathematical naivety of assuming a coincidence is actually unique. Coincidences are actually more common than we think.

Common sense tells us that we experience the consequences of our own decisions. If we study and work hard, we have a good chance of being successful. If we live clean, we have a good chance of staying healthy. If we are naïve, we have a good chance of falling into the hands of people intent on taking advantage of us.

Those who do not believe in some universal design, however, have only themselves to rely on, and their own power.

It can be a comfort to believe that there are no coincidences. The accident victim who is helped by a doctor who just “happened” to be driving by would like to think that “someone” is looking out for him. Romantic lovers find small coincidences to be significant and gratifying. Science attempts to explain weird coincidences, but many are convinced there are really no coincidences in life, whether it is cosmic energy, or God at work. The skeptic says, “It just happened, there is no explanation.” Each will find meaning in life based on one of these world views. If you choose to believe that life is a series of coincidences, you will certainly not have nearly as much satisfaction in life than if you choose to believe that things are happening in your life for a reason. Who knows? You may find your proof, and be a believer forever in serendipity.

How Much Do You Know About Flower Symbolism?Could you be sending people mixed signals with flowers? A gift of flowers has been symbolic of many things throughout the years. Although there may not be a scientific basis behind flower symbols, they are used to convey how we feel about others. Flower designs vary, as do their beautiful colors, amazing scents, and sizes. Do you know the symbolism of flowers, or are you missing out on hidden messages?